The final book in Sarina Bowen’s Ivy Series is a bit of a head scratcher and one in which the author’s intent seemed clear, but I don’t think she managed the very delicate balancing act she had decided to undertake, but first let me praise the other five books in the Ivy Years series and emphatically recommend buying all of them immediately: The Year We Fell Down – BAM! This book got me right in the feels. The Year We Hid Away – That’s a […]
A challenging new adult romance
Okay, so I finished this one last night. I don’t know if I have my head fully wrapped around it, but I need a space to try to get my thoughts in order. First though, what is up with that cover? Is that supposed to be our hero, because he looks like a douchenozzle. Just a side note. Really though, so far I have loved Sarina Bowen’s books. She seems to be tackling the new genre of New Adult with aplomb in wonderfully combining romance […]
How I didn’t quite learn to stop worrying and love collegiate sexual politics
Let me start off by saying that, with The Ivy Years series, Sarina Bowen became #1 with a bullet on my list of favorite contemporary authors. Her blend of humor, sensitivity, romantic instinct, steam, and generally good writing really came together in a fantastic series. The Fifteenth Minute is no exception in technical merit. But, to me, it had issues that weren’t so in its predecessors. A lot of them have to do with the underlying premise, which I’ll get to more in a minute. […]
A Bafflingly Highly-Rated Romance
If it hadn’t been free, I would be so annoyed right now. For the long plot summary of The Alphabet Game go to Amazon. Take your time, it’s a lot. I will do my best to provide a short summary: a. The love story is of the erotic romance ilk meaning that first comes sex then comes emotion. The protagonists decide to play a game (more on why below) in which they participate in some kind of congress based on proceeding through the alphabet, i.e. […]